


Hallelujah

by FrozenHearts



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Barry Allen & Iris West Friendship, Barry Allen In A Coma, Barry Whump, Coma, Eddie Thawne Lives, F/M, Family Drama, First Meetings, Found Family, Gen, Hospitals, Jealousy, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Not Really Character Death, Poor Barry, S.T.A.R. Labs, Sad, Wally West is Alive, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-22 20:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8299601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: He had both his parents.Barry had none.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try my hand at what it would be like if Wally had found Iris and Joe while Barry was still in the coma so here you go

The first time Francine had told him that he had a sister and a father, Wally had been ecstatic- it was the perfect family, everything he ever wanted (he'd rather have a brother than a sister, but beggars couldn't be choosers.) He looked at his mothers old photo albums, of the man named Joe West; he was a cop with the Central City Police Department, and when he dug further, he found out his new sister, Iris, was a report for Central City Picture News.

The first time Wally met them was Christmas, as his mother asked him to just try. While she lay dying, he went to visit his father and sister. The town looked nice, a large suburb with cookie cutter houses and perfectly trimmed lawns with minivans in almost every driveway. The roof of Joe and Iris's house was strung up with colorful lights and multiple cars were parked out front.

He was about to turn around, ashamed of showing up when they obviously had guests, but his mother asked him to do this. For her.

The look of shock on Joe's face was no surprise when Wally rang the doorbell, saying, "Um, I'm Wally. Francine- my mom, she asked me to come." 

The party had been okay, and he got to know his sister a little better than what his mom had told him beforehand. Yeah, she was very beautiful with bright eyes and long dark hair, but she was smart and funny, and Wally decided that it was cool to have Iris as a sister, even if she did act somewhat like a mom at times, asking if he needed anything or ruffling his hair if she found something he said funny. He met Iris' boyfriend- a guy named Eddie with blond hair and a friendly smile.

They looked happy, and Wally was glad that he met them.

Inside, the house was cozy and warm- there was a wood finish to everything, and pictures lined the walls next to silver pieces of tinsel and paper tress. The couch was a soft velvet and the cushions were deep; Wally had trouble actually leaving the couch to go and get some food. The lasagna was rather good, a perfect blend of macaroni, sauce, ground beef and stringy mozzarella cheese.

"So, Iris, when is the wedding?" Joe asked as they all sat around the table. Wally was next to Joe, Iris and Eddie sitting across from them. The table was large, but it was nice being close. When they first sat down, though, Wally noticed they had an extra chair out. Were they expecting another guest? Upon asking, though, Iris and Joe quickly skirted around the subject, a brief flash of sadness in Eddie's eyes before giving him a megawatt smile and passing the peas.

They talked for a while about stupid things. How Joe and Eddie were doing at the precinct. When Wally started his internship at the hospital and oh yeah, Iris, did you pick a veil yet to match your wedding dress?

"The veil is a surprise, Dad," Iris grinned, twirling a long string of cheese around her fork, "besides, I heard it was bad luck for anyone but the bride to see it before the wedding."

Wally raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it the groom seeing the bride in her dress the bad luck thing?"

Eddie grimaced, "Well, too late for that- I went with her to get the dress."

Joe knocked his knuckles against the table, catching Iris' attention, "Baby, did you finish the guest list?"

Iris nodded, slurping down extra sauce as she said, "I put everyone on it- Caitlin, Cisco, Captain Singh and Rob-"

"We invited the Captain?" Eddie gulped, making Wally chuckle. The man's face was the utter definition of fear; Iris merely patted his head, cooing at him.

"You're so cute when you're scared, Eddie," she teased.

"Scared? Try terrified- I heard that Rob is even more intimidating than Singh is, and-"

"Dude," Wally was surprised that he had even spoken up, "You'll be fine. You're getting married to Iris, and I've only known her for a week, but she's already pretty intimidating, if you ask me."

Joe barked out a laugh, leaning back in his chair. His voice was raspy as he tried catching his breath, letting his fork clatter into his plate. Wally looked at him, "What? What's so funny?"

Joe shook his head, "You just.... oooh, you just sounded like Barry for a second, I'm sorry."

Wally nodded. Okay, that was cool. He hadn't heard the name until now, but obviously, Wally was not going to automatically know every single one of Joe and Iris' friends right off the bat just after he met them. The lasagna had long since cooled, but Wally went for a second piece anyway, Eddie tipping the pan in his direction so it slid right onto his plate. Wally thanked him, pushing the food around in front of him.

"So, who's Barry then?" Wally asked, "I'm assuming he's pretty cool if I sound just like him."

Joe shook his head, a smile on his face, "Son, Barry-"

" _Dad._ "

Joe faltered, and Wally noticed the downcast look on his sister's face, her brow furrowed as she held her shoulders back, head leaning forwards over her plate. Eddie had gone quiet and it took a moment for Joe to realize what he had said. Wally didn't understand what he said, though, to make Iris so upset in a second flat.

"Sorry, Iris," Joe said softly, "I miss him too."

Wally looked between the two of them, ignoring his food completely, "Wait, who's Barry? Is he away somewhere?"

The silence was deafening. Gulping, Wally wished he hadn't asked. After a few minutes, Iris pushed her chair out from the table and stood up, wiping what Wally thought were tears from her eyes. Eddie followed, giving an apologetic smile before disappearing after her.

\-----

The next time he hears about Barry, he's sitting with Caitlin and Iris on the couch in the West's living room, flipping through a photo album. The photos are mostly black and white, delicate around the yellowed edges and worn with age. The first few pages are stuck together with dried glue, but the rest are laminated specimens, depicting smiling faces and happy memories.

"This was right after Barry got a really bad sunburn, on my birthday," Iris explained as she pointed to a color picture of herself and a tall young man, his pasty skin turned lobster red. He had brown hair, and he was fairly lanky, muscle clinging to his arms and legs, abs lightly defined. Caitlin cooed, "You guys look adorable! Hard to believe that he looks the same even now."

Wally looked at the picture as Iris hummed sadly at Caitlin's comment. Caitlin was a nice girl, and she helped Wally write his term papers for the nursing program at the hospital, but he had a feeling she sometimes spoke before she acted.

"So, where is Barry now?" Wally piped up after staring at Barry's photo, "I mean, he didn't come to dinner last week, and this picture looks pretty recent."

Iris nodded, "It's from last month, why?"

Wally shrugged, "I dunno. I keep seeing his picture all over the house. I figured he'd be here more often- he's our brother, right?"

Caitlin rubbed Iris' back as she nodded, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, he's our foster brother."

Oh. Wally jut thought he was over at the house all the time. He had a few friends who would do that, just cash at his apartment whenever, bringing snacks and dinner as compensation for randomly showing up. Iris had her fingers splayed out on the page, her thumb running lightly over Barry's face. Like she was trying to block him out. Avoid him.

Caitlin's phone buzzed, jolting Iris from her trance, "Shoot. That's Cisco, he said Barry's hea-" she froze at Iris's glare, and Wally was surprised that his sister could look so cold. Angry. Fingers flying over the keypad, Caitlin gave her a hug, and Wally received a warm smile, "Iris, I'll have Cisco keep you updated, okay? Wally?"

Wally blinked at her, just realizing now that she was wearing something akin to a lab coat, "Uh, yeah?"

"It was nice to meet you. I'm sure Barry will be very excited once he's discharged."

Discharged? But wasn't Barry on vacation? Wally didn't push, wary of Iris's eyes on him, instead nodding and saying, "Yeah, it was nice to meet you too."

He wondered what happened that Barry was taken in by them. Or how Caitlin even came to be his doctor.

Or why.

\------

As he came over more often, Wally noticed several things.

One, Iris always avoided looking at any frames hanging on the wall. Joe sometimes did this, although Wally thought it was more of a subconscious thing than deliberate. Whenever he caught them blatantly avoiding the pictures, he'd look himself, only to find an image of the ever-elusive Barry Allen staring back at him, smiling with Iris or tinkering away at some project (Joe was proud of those, often tearing up at the long-winded explanations behind such candids.)

Two was that Barry was not away on vacation. Judging from Caitlin's words last time they met, he was sick. So sick that he couldn't come home, and they refused to go visit him at whichever hospital he was at. Wally was pretty sure it was cancer, or some sort of paralysis, because nothing else would cause a reaction so severe.

Actually, scratch that. Any medical emergency that harms the well-being of another is sad. Any reaction is necessary, so Wally was going to let Iris's sudden aloofness slide for now.

The third thing was that the realization about who Barry was finally sank in. Barry Allen was his foster brother. He, Wally West, had a brother! Sure, he may be older, and he may not actually be in the picture, but he was a brother nonetheless, so Wally would make sure to treat him as such. From what he could tell, Barry was a nice guy.

The fourth thing Wally realized was that his own life was not as hard as he thought.

The topic came around at lunch, he and Joe sitting on a bench at the park. Iris was off at work for some fancy news story about some Supergirl chick in National City, and Joe had the day off from the precinct, so he took him around town, to see the sights; there weren't many, so by two o' clock, they were sitting in front of a statue in the heart of the park, nibbling ice cream bars and soaking up the sun.

"So, when is Barry coming home from the hospital?" wally asked, licking vanilla ice cream off his fingers, adding at Joe's shocked look, "Caitlin is his doctor. I work with her. I saw his name on a file once."

Joe let his shoulders sag, "He isn't really sick like you think he is, Wally."

Wally nodded, "it's cancer, isn't it?"

Joe scoffed, "If only it were that easy. But no, it isn't cancer."

Wally nodded. Paralysis it was then, huh? So why wasn't Barry home? There was enough space to set up a wheelchair, and Wally was currently sleeping in the guest room that was adjacent to the dining area and bathroom on the first floor. It would be easy to give Barry access to everything he needed, and they wouldn't have to install that lift thing he saw on television in the house.

"So, if it's paralysis then, I can just take Barry's old room, and he can have the guestroom," Wally suggested, "it's simple, really, I mean-"

"Wally, son," Joe sighed heavily, "I know you mean well, and I really appreciate it, but it isn't cancer and Barry is not paralyzed."

Wally blinked, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks, "Oh, sorry."

They sat in silence, Wally berating himself for being so stupid and prying where he shouldn't have. A name on a file did not mean he knew everything about the patient, as Caitlin had taught him. He knew she was Barry's doctor, but he had yet to see her (or the guy Caitlin introduced to him as Cisco) actually tend to Barry's well-being.

A sudden thought came to mind, "Does Barry's real parents know?"

Wally regretted asking as Joe scrubbed a hand over his face. His ice cream was melting, vanilla dripping off his fingers to spatter onto the sidewalk and his sneakers.

"Barry's mother passed away when he was eleven," Joe explained softly, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

"So he's with his dad?"

"No."

Wally's face fell, "So where is his dad?"

Again, it took a while for Joe to answer. They sat for a few minutes until Joe finally shrugged and said, "His father was convicted for his mother's murder. He's in Iron Heights, serving a life sentence."

Wally didn't really know what to say after that. The ice cream melted in his hands, and Wally threw the wrapper in the trash, mulling over the dark cloud now hanging over his head.

He'd never feel sorry for himself about having a single mother ever again. And now that he had his father, he had Joe in his life, he'd make sure to never pity his upbringing either. He had both parents, after all.

Barry had none.

\------

Iris and Eddie's wedding was a bittersweet affair.

His sister was positively glowing, and Eddie looked so proud, to be marrying this amazing girl, to be joining such a great family. Wally liked him, and he made Iris happy, so that was a plus. During the service, he ended up sitting with Joe and Eddie's mother, a small old lady with a large purple bow on her hat. On the other side of the chapel sat the precinct, all loose cannons as Joe had explained. Officers were crying, others were snapping photos, and then wally noticed Captain Singh and his husband, Rob, sitting with their heads held high, hand in hand as Iris walked down the aisle to the organ.

Wally clapped alongside everyone when iris and Eddie kissed at the altar, and his legs were sore as he and Cisco had a dance-off in the middle of the dance floor, much to Caitlin's amusement (Cisco totally won with his epic chicken-dance, his log black hair flying wildly, although Wally liked to think he could have won the DJ over if he had managed just one more rabbit-hop while performing the Charleston.) Wally even managed to not spill anything on the nice suit Joe had lent him for the night.

"This is one of Barry's old suits," Joe had said that morning, "it should fit you just fine.

And it did. The suit was a nice cotton-polyester blend, the blue color striking under the neon lights. Many people had commented on how nice it looked, and Iris always had a smile on her face when they locked eyes from across the room or at the buffet. Captain Singh was also not as intimidating as everyone said he was.

The wedding was fun, Wally surmised, but what would have made it better was if Barry was able to be here with them.

Iris and Eddie had mentioned Barry in their toast, and suddenly, Wally found himself crying into his lemon chicken, unable to hear Eddie's speech through the pounding in his head, the blood throbbing in his temples.

He slipped out during the father-daughter dance, wondering what exactly was wrong with Barry that he couldn't go to his own sister's wedding and why Iris put up with such despicable behavior.

\-----

Wally's mother passed the day he finally met Barry Allen.

He was told it was a quick death, that she felt no pain and she was happy in her final moments, but Wally wished he could have been there, instead of here, at S.T.A.R. Labs, with its neat equipment and squeaky floors. Everything was too clean and orderly. the walls sparkling and machines beeping and humming all around him.

Wally knew his mother would have been proud of him, though. For coming this far with an estranged family. And with that in mind, he found himself sitting with Iris next to a hospital bed, watching over the one and only Barry Allen's prone form. Electrodes were taped to his chest and forehead, and a thick oxygen tube was shoved down his throat, set in place with a mask.

Caitlin said it was a coma. Cisco supplied that it had been induced by a number of chemicals and a bolt of lightning.

Caitlin and Cisco were off to the side with Joe, discussing treatment options and Wally took the time to really take a good look at his foster brother. His skin was paler than Wally thought it would be (he'd only ever seen pictures, and as a coma patient, Barry's circulation was practically non-existent anyway due to lack of movement), his hair greasy and matted against the pillow. A thin sheen of sweat was on his skin, and his chest rose with each beep of the heart monitor.

"Hey, Bar," Iris said, rubbing her thumb across Barry's knuckles, "I want you to meet someone."

Of course, Barry didn't answer. He wasn't going to.

Iris cleared her throat, "He's our brother. His name is Wally, and he came to live with us while you were recovering."

Wally bit his lip, clasping his hands next to Barry's on the mattress. The sheets were rough with starch, the smell of detergent tickling his nose.

"Hey, Barry," Wally managed awkwardly, "I... uh, I'm your new brother. That's cool, I guess."

The red line on the heart monitor spiked for a bit before going back down. Wally took that as a greeting in response. Alright then. Iris started talking about the wedding, describing her dress and taking Barry's hand to help him feel out what her ring looked like.

It all seemed rather morbid, and Wally was ashamed for even thinking Barry could have had cancer or paralysis in the first place. Barry looked dead, the only thing keeping him alive being Caitlin and Cisco's efforts, as well as the oxygen tank.

And then Barry flat-lined.

Before he could even do anything, Wally found himself pushed away from Barry's bed, Cisco monitoring his pulse as Caitlin picked up a pair of paddles sitting by the monitor. He watched with dazed fascination as Cisco counted his blood pressure, his heart rate and anything and everything in between as Caitlin pressed the paddles to Barry's thin chest.

"Clear!"

_ZAP!_

Barry's body convulsed. Nothing happened.

Caitlin rubbed the paddles together, placing them once more on Barry's chest, "Clear!"

_ZAP!_

A jolt, and this time Barry flopped like a fish out of water. Iris was clutching hid hand in hers, her nails digging into his skin as she squeezed. Wally squeezed back, feeling tears at the corners of his eyes as he watched them try to save his new brother. The brother he always wanted, but might possibly never have now that he'd figured it out.

Wally didn't know how long he and Iris and Joe watched as Caitlin and Cisco kept blasting Barry with electricity, the monitor taunting them with ever hum and every beep as they repeated the process over and over.Wally absolutely hated it, he wanted to just reach over and smash the screen, to yell that Barry was okay and that he had a brother! He finally had a brother, there was no way this was being taken away from him now, not now!

Caitlin's throat was sore by the time they got Barry stabilized.

Wally ended up sleeping in Barry's room that night once they got home from S.T.A.R Labs, having fallen asleep after finding Iris making the bed.

It wasn't the same, but it was almost like Barry had woken up and came home with them, and Wally wished it were true.

Some people really did have it worse.

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about medical stuff


End file.
